National Poetry Month, and Mayor Helen Boosalis in the Lincoln Journal Star

I’m a few days late getting to this, but April is National Poetry Month, and the Internet is celebrating. All sorts of publishers, newspapers and blogs are posting poems and videos of poetry readings online in observance of National Poetry Month. Poets.org, the Web site for the Academy of American Poets, however, is going all out. The Web site is sponsoring a Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day, a poetry caption contest and an email poem-of-the-day message each day of April. More info on these and other activities can be found here. Check back with the UNP blog throughout April for more poetry posts. … Continue reading National Poetry Month, and Mayor Helen Boosalis in the Lincoln Journal Star

Art, books and queens, all in one place

Good morning, blog readers. This coming Friday is the first Friday of April, which here in Lincoln means that it’s artwalk time. Lincoln’s many art galleries will be open late and will feature new art by local artists, food, drink and in at least one case … books. The Noyes Art Gallery, 119 S. 9th St., together with Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P St., are co-sponsoring the book launch of new University of Nebraska Press title, Queens and Power in Medieval and Early Modern England, edited by Carole Levin and Robert Bucholz. Levin, will read from the book and sign … Continue reading Art, books and queens, all in one place

Christgau on Capitol Hill, and Kokomo Joe events

Kokomo joe A little over a week ago, John Christgau (author of Tricksters in the MadhouseThe Gambler and the Bug Boy, the upcoming Kokomo Joe and others), testified before Congress, and we here at the University of Nebraska Press asked him to write a guest blog about his experience doing so. Here’s what he had to say:

The weekend before last, I testified with others at a hearing in DC before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration.  The issue was H.R. 1425, or the “Wartime Treatment Study Act,” a proposed and long-overdue bill that would establish two fact-finding commissions. The first would study the internments and restrictions imposed by the U.S. government on certain European Americans and European Latin Americans during World War II. The second would study government policies limiting the ability of Jewish refugees to come to the United States before and during the war.  I was asked to testify because my book ENEMIES (which will be republished by Bison Books this September) was the first book on the subject of so-called “enemy aliens” during World War II.  The hearing was a gratifying yet disturbing experience. 

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Spring is here and so is Abbott Sisters Day

Today is the first day of spring. And today is also Abbott Sisters Day, which celebrates the accomplishments of social reformers and Grand Island natives Grace and Edith Abbott. Both sisters fought for better treatment of children, women, immigrants and the poor. They did much of their work in Chicago, but their ties to Nebraska remain strong; upon her death in 1957 Edith left most of her estate to the Grand Island Public Library, which is now named for her. Last year, The University of Nebraska Press published The Grace Abbott Reader, which is a collection of some of Grace … Continue reading Spring is here and so is Abbott Sisters Day

More March Madness (what else did you expect from the publishers of The Madness of March?)

We here at the University of Nebraska Press celebrated opening day of March Madness with a little party including such basketball staples as brackets, a free throw contest, and little smokies. And let it be known that we’re in good company:   This, for those of you who don’t recognize it, is President Obama’s bracket. Go Louisville!As our regular readers know, UNP author Alan Zaremba (The Madness of March: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas) is in Vegas, watching the games and blogging up a storm. Here’s an excerpt from a post from last night: …When Duquesne … Continue reading More March Madness (what else did you expect from the publishers of The Madness of March?)

Baseball books, baseball song, and plain old baseball

As the end of college basketball season (which I’ve devoted much space to on this blog in recent weeks) draws near, baseball season is in full force. And the University of Nebraska Press LOVES baseball season. NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture holds an annual conference each spring, and this year, two of our authors will be featured speakers there. Lee Lowenfish, author of Branch Rickey, will give a presentation on his book – which is now out in paperback – on Friday, and Monica Nucciarone, author of Alexander Cartwright, will speak on Saturday. The conference is in … Continue reading Baseball books, baseball song, and plain old baseball

Another week, another cold Friday, and perhaps, another snowy Saturday, too. It’s becoming all too predictable here in the Midwest. Luckily, there is news in the world of the University of Nebraska Press. First off, one of our authors is in New York this weekend, attending the Festival of New French Writing. Abdourahman Waberi, author of In the United States of Africa, will give a lecture this afternoon. The festival’s web site notes that In the United States of Africa was “unanimously hailed by critics” when it was published in French in 2006 (yay accolades!). The UNP’s English translation of … Continue reading

AAUP winners at the Sheldon, Camuto still on tour, and the NYT says nice things about the new Kindle

If you haven’t been to the Sheldon Museum of Art to check out the AAUP Book, Jacket and Journal Show, now’s the time to go. The show, featuring the best examples of design from university presses in the United States and Canada, will be at the Sheldon through Friday. Among the books in the show is the University of Nebraska Press title A Life in Letters. In other news, Robert Camuto’s tour of Seattle, San Francisco and New York is nearly over. If you haven’t been following the author of Corkscrewed: Adventures in the New French Wine Country on his … Continue reading AAUP winners at the Sheldon, Camuto still on tour, and the NYT says nice things about the new Kindle

Joern on Des Moines community radio, happy birthday to Wallace Stegner, and goodbye to Silas the cat

There’s lots going on in the world of the University of Nebraska Press today. Let’s get right down to it. First, what are you doing at 12:42 p.m. today? If you’re going to be at your computer, you can stream an interview with Pamela Carter Joern, author of The Floor of the Sky and The Plain Sense of Things.  Joern will be on Des Moines community radio station 99.1, visiting with John Busbee, host of The Culture Buzz. Second, today is the 100th anniversary of Wallace Stegner’s birth. Stegner, whose novel Angle of Repose won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction … Continue reading Joern on Des Moines community radio, happy birthday to Wallace Stegner, and goodbye to Silas the cat